Suppression of signal transmission over a conductor

ABSTRACT

The disclosed embodiments relate to method and/or device which is effective at cancelling or altering electrical signals or pulses, generated by, for example, digital electronic systems and components, that are induced, reflected or otherwise made present on the mains power supply conductors and/or the earthing or grounding conductor (if present.) The disclosed embodiments cancel these electrical signals thereby providing an effective means of preventing the exfiltration of various data from a computing or similar system by means of power line emissions. The disclosed embodiments may perform this subjugation by: altering the shape of the fundamental current and voltage waveforms and also altering and diminishing any non-fundamental frequency waveforms to a point where they are no longer measurable or detectable; and preventing the communication via inductive coupling of any electrical signals on mains current onto the grounding path or vice versa.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of the filing date under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/138,007, filedJan. 15, 2021, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to a data security device intended toprevent data or other signals indicative of information or powertransmission or conversion artifacts generated by computing equipment,or other electrically powered devices, from propagating over theelectrical power infrastructure and allowing or facilitating a databreach, as well as detect and report or otherwise indicate when suchdata or other signals are currently being and/or have been propagated.Furthermore, this application relates to manipulation and cancelling ofelectrical waveforms found on power conductors and earthing grounds.

BACKGROUND

Air-gapping is a network security measure where a device, or an entirenetwork of devices, is/are physically isolated, e.g., communicatively,from other devices or communications networks, e.g., isolated on localnetworks with no internet access and no access to other unsecurednetworks. Consequently, attempts to surreptitiously access such systemsor devices would normally require someone to have physical access to thedevices or systems to, for example, introduce malware or exfiltratedata/information therefrom.

Organizations with high security needs implement air-gapped systems tosafeguard sensitive data against cyberattacks originating from externalsource and/or compromised systems on company networks or the Internet.Air-gapped systems are not only used in sensitive military facilities.They are also used by government and corporate entities to protectsensitive private data, classified files, intellectual property andcritical infrastructure.

Generally, air-gapped computers are isolated both logically andphysically from all kinds of existing common communication channels,such as USB ports, wireless and wired communications networks, etc.Although the feasibility of infiltrating an air-gapped computer has beenproven in recent years, data exfiltration from such systems is stillconsidered to be a challenging task and therefore remains a reliablemethod for securing devices.

However, air-gapped devices still require electrical power to operateand it has recently been shown that one can exfiltrate data through anair-gapped computer via its power supply, i.e., the power deliveryinfrastructure which conveys power (and grounding) from an externalsource, as well as any conditioning and/or regulating devices, whichdeliver operating power at the requisite voltages and current levels tothe devices, which typically includes a switched-mode power supplycommonly used in laptop and desktop computers and servers. For example,malicious computer program code, e.g., malware, can indirectly controlthe electromagnetic emission frequency of the power supply by leveragingthe CPU utilization, i.e., by regulating utilization, and thereby powerconsumption, of the CPU in accordance with the data that the malware istrying to exfiltrate, and the emitted signals can be received anddemodulated by a dedicated device. The data is effectively modulated,encoded, and transmitted on top of the current flow fluctuations inducedby the device into the power delivery infrastructure, and then it isconducted and propagated through the power lines. This phenomena isknown as a ‘conducted emission’.

Even without the use of malicious code, information about the air gappedsystem may still be gleaned from the signals induced in the powerconductors via the normal operations of the system.

Accordingly, it is possible to extract data from information technology(IT) equipment (ITE) by capturing data present in the power conductorswhich supply power to such devices. The presence of this data may beintentional through the use of malicious software or unintentional as aby-product of the normal operation of the electronic equipment.

Acquisition of this data can be accomplished without making directcontact with the electronic equipment and therefore may be referred toas an air-gapped attack.

Even where an IT facility provides its own power source, e.g. onsitepower generation, that power source may be located away from the ITE,often in a separate building, and coupled with the ITE via powerconductors running via, for example, conduit or overhead lines, all ofwhich may be vulnerable to surreptitious access as described herein.

Furthermore, modern high-speed and highly accurate power measuringequipment, e.g., oscilloscopes, used to capture and analyze the signalsmakes this threat easy to carry out and over the recent years there havebeen published papers that instruct the public on the methods for suchan attack.

Because electronic devices, such as computers, do not need malwareinstalled to be vulnerable, billions of computer devices may be exposed.

Generally, this exploit involves sensing and analyzing electricalmagnetic impulses that are:

-   -   Very low in power;    -   Very high in frequency (at least relative to the alternating        current fundamental mains power frequency of, for example, 50 or        60 Hz);    -   Blended with other electrical impulse “noise”; and/or    -   Blended with the impulses from other electrical devices.

Presently, it takes fast, expensive electrical analysis devices, knownas oscilloscopes or spectrum analyzers, to obtain this data and toderive anything meaningful from it. However, anyone can rent thisequipment and the costs of such equipment continue to decline whiletheir capabilities continue to increase. Cell phones can even be usedfor detection and recording of these impulses by just being nearby thepower lines.

More particularly, magnetic fields are generated by the high-poweredCPUs due to the billions of transistors present therein which may createenough switching energy that generate pulses onto the electrical powersource conductors inside the computer or ITE. Furthermore, IT deviceshave power supplies that by themselves leave an electrical imprint, withthese artifacts commonly referred to as “harmonics” and generallycategorized as “switching noise.” Together, the transistor switchinginduced signals and the device electrical imprint may find their wayonto to, for example, the ground conductor via induction, or moresimply, the radio principle.

That is, the magnetic impulses from the integrated circuits inside theITE are imposed onto the power supply conductors. Next, the power supplyimposes its switching signals also onto the power conductors bringingpower, or providing ground, to the power supply. The ground conductor,connected to the power supply, then receives the power line signals viainductive coupling. That ground conductor, by design, implements anunbroken path from the ITE to physical earth for the purpose ofproviding a path for fault current to flow. This ground path mayterminate away from the ITE, e.g., outside the facility or at anotherless secure location, where it may be accessible as described.

Attackers seeking to use a power line exploit (PLE) can exploit anyportion of these vectors, but the easiest may be the ground path. Moreparticularly, the electrical imprint or artifacts of the IT device'spower supply may help an attacker to identify the type and sometimeseven the manufacturer of the device, which may then help in interpretingthe data that is also found imposed on the ground conductor.

Together, the transistor switching pulses and the power supply switchingpulses create signals that make their way over to the ground conductorvia inducement, or more simply, the radio principle. Once the signal ison the ground, it is detectable almost anywhere inside and outside afacility, such as a data center.

A PLE occurs when someone discovers these signals and translates thesignals into meaningful data. The consequences of such an exploit maydepend on what the attacker gathers and how it is then used. Forexample:

-   -   An inventory of devices on premise can be gathered;    -   The movement of devices can be tracked;    -   the absence or insertion of devices can also be tracked; and/or    -   Based on power supply signatures, certain wavelengths from        devices of interest can be targeted for data exploitation.

Coupled with malware installed on targeted devices, a compromisedcomputer can be much more easily detected, and data gathered, withoutany trouble from network security devices like firewalls.

Hackers have likely already done the leg work of using expensiveo-scopes and other devices to analyze the electrical signals on testdevices in isolated environments, so they know what to capture. Usingsimpler, smaller and cheaper devices like smart phones that havetremendous computing power, the electrical signals can be recordedand/or transmitted easily in a clandestine way.

The use of oscilloscopes and signal analyzers are not the only way toacquire the data, once a person knows what to capture. Other deviceswhich may be employed in the acquisition of the magnetic impulses orsignals include, but are not limited to:

-   -   A near field antenna;    -   A current transformer and data logger; and/or    -   A radio.

For example, in order to capture and show the electrical data used for aPLE:

-   -   Voltage and Current signals are captured in their various        frequencies using an oscilloscope, which is a device that plots        data point over time and produces lines that sometimes look like        waves, which is why the pictures it creates are called        “waveforms.” To capture a large amount of high frequencies,        advanced and expensive o-scopes may be needed.

Getting voltage data requires touching and breaking into the wires,which is not something a hacker may be able to accomplish undetected inmost cases. However, to get current (amperage) data, a current sensingclamp needs to only surround a conductor, or be physically near it. Thismay be very possible to accomplish without detection.

Signals on the ground conductor may be found in the kHz, MHz and GHzrealms.

Accordingly, there is a need to prevent the transmission of data orother information signals from IT devices over a conductor, such as theconductors which supply power to those devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a system for suppressing data exfiltration over aconductor according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 depicts the inductance curve over the available current range forthe example inductors which may be used with the circuit of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 illustrates depicts the current/Amps peak to peak vs phase forthe example inductors which may be used with the circuit of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 4 illustrates exemplary signals on the line, neutral and groundconductors where the disclosed embodiments are not being used.

FIG. 5 illustrates the exemplary signals of FIG. 4 with the disclosedembodiments in use.

FIG. 6 depicts a flow chart showing operation of a device incorporatingthe circuit of FIG. 1 according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7 depicts an example implementation of the system of FIG. 1according to one embodiment.

FIG. 8 depicts a system for suppressing data exfiltration over aconductor, as well as detecting/reporting same, according to anotherembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The disclosed embodiments relate to a system, method, device, circuitand/or circuit/device architecture, which may be referred to as a powerline firewall or filter, which is effective at cancelling or alteringelectrical signals or pulses, generated by, for example, digitalelectronic systems and components, that are induced, reflected, imposed,imparted or otherwise made present on the power supply conductors and/orthe earthing or grounding conductors (if present) coupled therewith,e.g., the mains power supply conductors. The disclosed embodimentscancel these electrical signals thereby providing an effective means ofpreventing the exfiltration of various information, e.g., data, from acomputing or similar system by means of power line emissions. Thedisclosed embodiments may perform this subjugation by: altering theshape of the fundamental current and voltage waveforms and also alteringand diminishing any non-fundamental frequency waveforms to a point wherethey are no longer substantially measurable or discernable/detectable;and preventing the communication via inductive coupling of anyelectrical signals on mains current onto the grounding path or viceversa. It will be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments may bedeployed in conjunction with conductors carrying alternating current(AC), e.g., between an AC power source and an AC/DC converter whichsupplies DC to a digital electronic system. or direct current (DC),e.g., between the AC/DC converter and the digital electronic system(s)coupled therewith.

In another embodiment, in addition to the cancellation or alteration,the disclosed method, device, circuit and/or circuit/device architecturemay further detect, analyze and/or log, indicate and/or otherwise reportthe current or past presence of electrical signals or pulses, generatedby, for example, digital electronic systems and components, that areinduced, reflected, imposed, imparted or otherwise made present on themains power supply conductors and/or the earthing or groundingconductors (if present). This functionality may be used, for example,for implementing investigative or remedial measures, inventory controland/or failure prediction or monitoring.

FIG. 4 shows a depiction of the baseline signals measured between anInformation Technology Equipment (“ITE”), which may include one or moredevices, and the AC mains power source where the disclosed embodimentshave not been implemented. The light blue line (Line current) 404 andthe bright green line (ground current) 406 show high frequency signalspresent along with the fundamental 60 Hz signal, which is most clearlyseen in the yellow line (Line-Neutral voltage) 402, which may beindicative of information generated by the ITE.

FIG. 5 shows a depiction of remediated signals, resulting from theimplementation of the disclosed embodiments between the ITE used in FIG.4 and the AC mains power source, the measurement having been takenbetween the AC mains power source and the implementation of thedisclosed embodiments. As in FIG. 4 , the light blue line 504 depictsline current, the bright green line 506 depicts ground current and theyellow line 502 depicts line-neutral voltage. As can be seen, the highfrequency signals shown in FIG. 4 have been significantly diminished, ifnot substantially eliminated, due to the operation of the disclosedembodiments.

Generally, the disclosed embodiments: prevent the ITE's switched modepower supply imprint or artifact(s) and the signals indicative of CPUtransistor switching from moving upstream of the ITE's power supply andprevent any signals from also being induced or otherwise imposed ontoground.

In one embodiment, the disclosed system is integrated with the powersupply of the ITE. In an alternative implementation, the disclosedembodiments may be deployed proximate to the point of use, orimmediately at the power input of the ITE. It will be appreciated thatthe disclosed embodiments may be deployed at any point along the powerdistribution infrastructure between the power source, and/or groundtermination point, and the ITE/device(s) which is/are being poweredthereby and that the deployment location may be implementation dependentand/or dependent upon the physical configuration of the powerdistribution infrastructure and/or assessed vulnerabilities of thedevices to be protected, the power distribution infrastructure supplyingpower thereto and/or physical environment in which the devices arelocated. It will be appreciated that it may be desirable to minimize thephysical distance between the power supply of the ITE and the disclosedembodiments so as to minimize the distance over which the unfilteredsignals may travel, and therefore are vulnerable to attack, before beingremediated by the disclosed embodiments. In one embodiment, thedisclosed embodiments may be integrated, or used in conjunction, with apower protection device, such as a surge or transient event suppressorwhich prevents power surges, spikes or other transient events fromreaching the power supply of the ITE. In such an implementation, thedisclosed embodiments may be implemented between the power source andthe power line protection device/mechanism or between the power lineprotection device/mechanism and the power supply of the ITE.Alternatively, the disclosed embodiments may be used in lieu of a powerline protection device. In another implementation, the disclosedembodiments may be incorporated or otherwise integrated with a powerdistribution unit (PDU) or similar point-of-use power distributionmechanism as commonly found in a data center cabinet, equipment rack orsimilar structure.

In particular, the disclosed embodiments may reform the voltage andcurrent waveshapes conveyed over the conductors to a linear profile sothat, for example, one ITE device cannot be uniquely identified fromanother solely based on electrical properties and, further, preventinductive coupling of the magnetic impulses created by the operation ofthe device, e.g., CPU, with nearby wiring, e.g., the wires supplyingpower and ground to the ITE, which represent or may be indicative ofdata or artifact signals. This results in the removal and/or obfuscationof any signals that could convey information, exploitable or otherwise.

The disclosed embodiments may be passively implemented so as not topresent a work load to the ITE nor require any processing power toenable the disclosed functionality, and further the disclosedembodiments may not appreciably detract from the available power in thecircuit connected to the ITE, minimizing cost of any additional powerconsumption thereby. Alternatively, as will be described, additionalfunctionality may be provided to detect and indicate or otherwise reportanomalous signals which the disclosed embodiments are currentlyremediating, or have been remediated. This additional functionality maybe powered from the same power source supplying the ITE or a separatepower source.

FIG. 1 depicts an example of a system 100 for suppressing dataexfiltration over a conductor according to one embodiment. The disclosedsystem 100 includes a circuit architecture, an example of which is shownin FIG. 1 and described in more detail below, which may be adjusted forimplementation with different electrical supply configurations, e.g.,wye, delta, split-phase or single-phase, etc. In particular, thedisclosed architecture, as will be described, includes an inductor L1,L2, L3 coupled in series with each conductor 102, 104, 106 of theparticular electrical supply configuration, e.g., an inductor L1, L2, L3for each of the one or more line 102, neutral 104 and/or groundconductors 106 present as dictated by the particular electrical supplyconfiguration. In addition, the disclosed architecture may furtherinclude a passive switching device Z1-Z6, such as a metal oxidevaristor, Zener diode or gas tube, coupled between each pair ofconductors 102, 104, 106, dependent on the particular electrical supplyconfiguration, on both the line/source and load sides of theinductor(s). In the simplest implementation, only a single inductor L3may be provided in series on the ground path 106.

The passive switching devices Z1-Z6, which may include metal oxidevaristors, Zener diodes or gas tubes, are, generally, variableresistance devices which open at a particular voltage level. Suchdevices may be used in surge suppression implementation as they can beused to dissipate energy. In the disclosed embodiments, the passiveswitching devices Z1-Z6, by closing or otherwise clamping at particularvoltages, are used to control the growth and collapse of the fieldsgenerated by the inductors L1, L2, L3 and thereby avoid magneticsaturation of the inductors L1, L2, L3.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the disclosed system 100 may be implemented with acircuit that operates in wye, delta, split-phase or single-phaseelectrical supply configurations. In one embodiment, the disclosedsystem 100 is implemented as a device or apparatus having an enclosure112, e.g., made of aluminum, with one or more input and outputconnectors for electrically connecting the device with the power source108 and with the device 110, e.g., an ITE or other “signal source”, tobe powered, which may be, for example, mounted on a computer/server rackand coupled between the power source 108 and the power supply (notshown) which provides power, e.g., conditioned or converted (such as ACto DC), to the devices 110 also mounted on the rack or proximatethereto. In one embodiment, the system 100 features physical safetyand/or security mechanisms (not shown), such as rivets or othermechanisms, to prevent and/or detect tampering or otherwise comply withindustry or regulatory requirement, e.g., IEC/UL safety guidelines62368-1. An example implementation of the system 100 of FIG. 1 is shownin FIG. 7 .

In one embodiment, the system 100 may include a single input forreceiving power from a power source 108 and multiple outputs forproviding the received power to more than one device 110.

For simplicity, this description will use the single-phase use case.However, it will be appreciated that, as described above, the disclosedembodiments may be implemented in wye, delta, split-phase and otherelectrical supply configurations, now available or later developed.

Generally, the disclosed embodiments relate to a system 100, deviceand/or apparatus for suppressing transmission of signals over aconductor 102, 104, 106 coupled between an AC or DC power source 108 anda device/ITE/signal source 110, e.g., a load or device, powered therebyfor which the suppression of signals imposed on the conductors by thedevice is desired, the apparatus comprising: a first input for receivingpower from the power source 108 via one or more power conductors 102,104; a second input for connecting to a ground conductor 106; an outputfor providing the received power to the signal source 110 and couplingthe signal source 110 with the ground conductor 106; and a circuitcoupled with the input and the output, the circuit comprising: for eachof the one or more power and ground conductors 102, 104, 106, aninductor L1, L2, L3 forming an electrical path from the first or secondinput through the inductor L1, L2, L3 to the output. In one embodiment,the circuit further comprises: for at least one pair of conductors ofthe one or more power and ground conductors 102, 104, 106, first andsecond passive switching device Z1-Z6 coupled therebetween, the firstpassive switching device Z1 being coupled between the input and theinductor L1, L2, L3, and the second passive switching device coupledbetween the inductor L1, L2, L3 and the output. In one embodiment, theapparatus further includes an enclosure 112 operative to enclose thecircuit and providing one or more electrical connectors for each of thefirst and second inputs and output.

Referring to FIG. 1 in more detail, there is shown a system 100according to one embodiment, which includes a circuit as shown, whichsuppresses transmission of signals over a conductor 102, 104, 106, orotherwise prevents the exfiltration of data or other information, from adevice 110, referred to as a Load, or other signal source, receivingpower thereby from a power source V1 108, such a mains/utility powersupply, an onsite power generation or power supply, or other source ofpower including solar, wind, fuel-cell, hydro-electric, or battery basedpower supplies, via one or more conductors 102, 104, 106, such as awire, cable, bus bar, etc. or other electrically conductive substrate,including, in wireless power delivery applications, air. In oneembodiment, the signal source 110 comprises a computer or other dataprocessing device, such as a server. In one embodiment, the signalscomprise analog signals, which may be indicative of digital informationprocessed or generated by the signal source 110, imposed on one or moreof the conductors 102, 104, 106 by the signal source. In one embodiment,the circuit of the system 100 of FIG. 1 is further coupled with a powerline protection device operative to protect the signal source 110 fromsurges and/or transient power events.

In one embodiment, the system 100 may be implemented using a circuit,such as that depicted in FIG. 1 , operative to alter the shape of afundamental current and voltage waveforms and also alter and diminishany non-fundamental frequency waveforms such that they are notmeasurable or detectable, and further prevent the communication thereofvia inductive coupling of any electrical signals on mains current ontothe grounding path or vice versa.

The system 100 includes inductors L1, L2, L3 implemented in series oneach of the Line 102, Neutral 104 and Ground 106 paths with uniforminductance values focused on the data signal broad-spectrum range, e.g.,100 Hz-250 MHz, but permissive of the nominal power frequency range,e.g., 50-60 Hz nominal, although with appropriately adjusted components,the disclosed embodiments may operate at other nominal frequencies, suchas 440 Hz.

Passive switching components Z1-Z6, such as metal oxide varistors(MOV's), are located in parallel across the Line-Neutral 102 104,Line-Ground 102 106, and Neutral-Ground 104 106 node pairs (connected byat least one MOV) on both the Line side and the Load side of theinductors L1, L2, L3, with the exception that the Neutral-Ground 104 106and Line-Ground 102 106 MOV pairs on the Load side of the inductorconnected to the Line side of the Ground path 106.

This circuit configuration of the system 100 performs the necessarywaveform shaping of signals on all three paths, thus altering orcancelling any data/information signals imposed on those paths by theload. Furthermore, the wave-shaping, which lowers the frequency andamplitude of the data signals, prevents inductive coupling or couplingemissions, whereby a signal present one conductor magnetically becomespresent on an adjacent one, from occurring. As was described above, inwye, delta, split-phase and other electrical supply configurations,generally, a similar architecture is utilized, e.g. each conductorincludes an inductor in series, and each conductor pair includes apassive switching device coupled therebetween on both the line/supplyand load sides.

FIG. 7 shows an image of device/apparatus which implements the examplecircuit of the system 100 of FIG. 1 described above.

It will be appreciated that the MOV's Z1-Z6 can be substituted usingother passive switching devices such as gas tubes or Zener diodes.

In one embodiment, the inductors L1, L2, L3 comprise a powdered-ironcore manufactured by Micrometals Inc of Anaheim, Calif., part numberMS-157125-2 wound with 41 turns of AWG #14 solid wire to provide aninductance of 0.28 mH.

In an example implementation of the circuit of the system 100, thenominal inductance values of the inductors L1, L2, L3 are equal. Forexample, the inductance values of L1, L2, and L3 may be in the range of0.1 mH to 0.3 mH.

In another implementation, the nominal inductance values of L1 and L2may be in the range of 1.0 mH to 2.0 mH and L3 is in the range of 0.1 mHto 0.3 mH.

In yet another implementation, the nominal inductance value for L1, L2,and L3 may be in the range of 0.1 mH-0.3 mH, but metal-oxide varistorsacross Line-Neutral 102 104 on both the Line and Load side of thecorresponding inductors need only be present. That is the MOV's Z2, Z3,Z5 and Z6 may be eliminated.

In still another implementation, the nominal inductance value for L1,L2, and L3 may be in the range of 0.1 mH-0.3 mH, but no metal-oxidevaristors or other passive switching devices need be present.

FIG. 2 depicts a graph showing the inductance curve over the availablecurrent range, i.e., the DC Inductance versus the DC Current of aninductor manufactured to operate in the 0.1 mH-0.3 mH range, for theexample inductors L1, L2, L3 which may be used with the circuit of thesystem 100 of FIG. 1 , showing that the inductors are not saturated.

FIG. 3 depicts a graph of the typical peak to peak current vs signalphase for the example inductors L1, L2, L3 manufactured to operate inthe 0.1 mH-0.3 mH range which may be used with the circuit of the system100 of FIG. 1 , showing inductor response, i.e., illustrating the powerlevels for generating the most and the least inductance.

In one implementation, the disclosed embodiments are implemented as adevice, apparatus or other article of manufacture which may include anenclosure 112, such as an aluminum enclosure, which may be rackmountable and/or free standing, containing one or more circuit boardsimplemented as described herein and having one or more inputsand/outputs, such as electrical sockets/plugs, pig-tails, etc., forcoupling the apparatus with a power source 108 and ground, e.g., theconductors therefrom, and one or more loads/devices 110 to be poweredthereby.

FIG. 6 depicts a flow chart showing the example operation, such as ofthe system 100, of the disclosed embodiments for suppressingtransmission of signals over a conductor coupled between a power source108 and a signal source 110, e.g., a load including ITE device(s),powered thereby.

Generally, the operation may include conveying power received from thepower source 108 to a power supply of the signal source 110 and notconveying a switched mode power supply imprint and/or signals imposed byCPU transistor switching from the power supply toward the power source108 or a ground coupled therewith. For example, the operation mayinclude altering the shape of a fundamental current and voltagewaveforms and altering and diminishing any non-fundamental frequencywaveforms such that they are not measurable or detectable; andpreventing the communication thereof via inductive coupling of anyelectrical signals on mains current onto the grounding path or viceversa.

More particularly, the operation may, for example, include:implementing, electrically, a circuit between the power source 108 andthe signal source 110 receiving power therefrom, the circuit receivingpower from the power source 108 and conveying the received power to thesignal source 110 (Block 602), the implementing further comprising:coupling a first inductor L1 in series between a first phase conductor102 and a first output line, wherein power supplied by the power source108 to the first output line flows through the first inductor L1 (Block604); and coupling a second inductor L2 in series between a second phaseconductor 104 and a second output line, wherein power supplied by thepower source 108 to the second output line flows through the secondinductor L2 (Block 606); and wherein an inductance of each of the firstinductor L1 and the second inductor L2 increases when power atfrequencies greater than the nominal frequency flows through the firstphase conductor 102 and the second phase conductor 104.

As mentioned above, in another embodiment, in addition to thecancellation or alteration, the disclosed method, device, circuit and/orcircuit/device architecture further detect and indicate or otherwisereport the current or previous presence of electrical signals or pulses,generated by, for example, digital electronic systems and components,that are induced, reflected, imposed, imparted or otherwise made presenton the mains power supply conductors and/or the earthing or groundingconductors (if present).

In particular, as will be described, the disclosed embodiments may bemodified, as shown, for example, in FIG. 8 , to detect and log, indicateand/or report when signals from the signal source are present and beingsuppressed, or previously present and suppressed. For example, thesystem 100 may further include an indicator 818, such as a light, e.g.an LED light, audible alarm and/or other annunciator which indicateswhen signals are present and are currently being suppressed as describedherein and/or have previously been present and suppressed, e.g.,recently or since a reset action was performed. Alternatively, or inaddition thereto, the disclosed embodiments may include a dataprocessing device 816 which provides for data/eventanalysis/logging/recording, such as a detector/converter and storagedevice, implemented with a computer processor and memory, capable ofstoring data indicative of the current and/or past detection andsuppression of signals from the signal source 110. Alternatively, or inaddition thereto, the disclosed embodiments may include a wired orwireless communications interface 818, such as a communications port orwired or wireless network interface, which enables the disclosedembodiments to communicate data indicative of current and/or pastdetection and suppression of signals from the signal source 110, such asfrom the data/event logging functionality. This may be used for furtheranalysis and/or remediation.

As will be described, the disclosed embodiments may further include dataprocessing functionality 816 operative to analyze the detected andsuppressed signals in order to derive information therefrom. Forexample, the data processing functionality 816 may be used to identifythe signal sources 110 coupled with the disclosed embodiments, when oneor more signal sources may be coupled with one or moreinstances/deployments of the disclosed embodiments, based on uniquecharacteristics of the detected/suppressed signals, or changes thereto.Once identified, the data processing function 816 may further determine,e.g., using prior identification data as a baseline, when subsequentlydetected/suppressed signals, or a lack thereof, are indicative ofphysical removal of a signal source 110, addition of a new signal source110, and/or an actual or potential fault or failure of a signal source110. Historical data, stored in a memory, may further permit statefulanalysis and identification of changes and trends.

More particularly, in one embodiment, the disclosed system 800 may befurther operative to uniquely identify a signal source 110, such as anelectrically powered device, from among a plurality of signal sources110 deployed in a particular implementation, via information gatheredbetween it and its power source 108. Among other benefits, theinformation gathered can subsequently be used, for example, to predictfailure or track the locus and movement of the device 110.

Certain, if not all, electrically powered devices 110, including thosedescribed herein, interact with their power source 108 in a variety ofways, measurable through certain power quality components which may bemeasured on the power and ground conductors coupled therewith. Powerquality components, such as harmonic distortion, EMI, higher-frequencynoise or injections, current and voltage patterns and grounded pathcontent, to name the most prevalent, but certainly not to excludeothers, are present in some amplitude and frequency, or not, with everyelectrically powered device 110. However, due to the branching topologyused for traditional electrical distribution infrastructures, whereby alarge source of power 108 is splintered and distributed through branchesof lower voltage and current maximums towards the points of use, much ofpower quality components of particular devices 110 either becomescancelled, added or multiplied as they are conveyed through theinfrastructure. It is therefore difficult to obtain, from the powerdistribution infrastructure itself, exact, reproducible information thatdescribes any one given device 110 anywhere in the infrastructure, fromthe most upstream power source 108 location to the closest point at theinput of the device 110 under examination.

The disclosed embodiments may detect, isolate, extract or otherwisederive a device's power quality components from the electricalinfrastructure without having to separate the device from theinfrastructure. In one embodiment, the disclosed system 800, as shown,for example, in FIG. 8 , inserts a series component in each electricalpath, including ground, that is excited by the presence of one or morepower quality components, and thereby producing voltages that can beinterpreted as data or from which information or data may be extractedor otherwise derived. The disclosed embodiments may provide an activeprobe architecture, one that acts upon the power signal, conditioning itin a favorable manner so that voltages from the series components can beproduced—as a response to the conditioning performed. These voltages maythen be captured, e.g., in a snapshot of the voltages present at a giventime (or averaged or accumulated over a period of time), converted todigital representations thereof and interpreted by a computingsystem/processor with appropriate algorithms and storage to, forexample, determine the presence of signals from a signal source 110 asdescribed above, and/or create a fingerprint of a given device 110and/or its present operational state, i.e., a substantially uniquedigital identifier. This fingerprint may be further maintained and thequality of the fingerprint perfected over time as more snapshots aretaken and, for example, averaged or otherwise correlated or aggregated.The fingerprint may further serve as a baseline for comparison withother data to identify changes or trends related thereto.

The series components may be described as inductors, similar to thosedescribed above for use in detecting and suppressing signalexfiltration, with an additional winding, e.g., a “sensing” winding,incorporated therein used to sense and transmit the voltage data signal.While this construction resembles a toroidal transformer, in thedisclosed embodiments, the sensing winding's signal is used as a datasignal indicative of the conditioning being performed and/or presence ofone or more power quality components and not to deliver energy at adifferent voltage. That is, the disclosed embodiments are nottransforming power on the primary winding to a secondary winding for thepurpose of delivery of a different voltage, load side current or motivepower.

It will be appreciated that an inductor of sufficient inductance, gauss,oersted and resistance may be placed in series in a given electricalsupply path, e.g., 1 mH average over the expected operating range of theinductor. This inductor, due to its power conditioning intent previouslystated, will interact with the varying voltage and current signals beingconducted via the electrical supply path. Because there is sufficientmagnetic flux density present in the inductor, a secondary winding,i.e., the sensing winding described above, around this inductor willhave a voltage signal induced upon it. Depending upon the number ofturns of the secondary winding, lesser or greater voltages, andsubsequently lesser or greater data precision may be obtained from theinductor. Generally, the secondary winding acquires a voltage signalgenerated by the various magnetic fields in the inductor for thepurposes of detecting and measuring the activity of the inductor. Anexample secondary winding might include 10 turns of 24 AWG wire woundagainst the primary winding of the inductor. The secondary winding mayproduce voltages in the range of 10 millivolts to 1 volt based on thefundamental voltage signal and noise events from 10 Hz to 250 kHz. Thesevoltage can be measured by an oscilloscope or recorded by a data logger.

In one embodiment, as described above, the inductor may be deployed forthe purpose of power conditioning, with the secondary sensing windingadded to provide the described sensing function. However, an inductorincluding the sensing winding may be deployed solely for sensingvoltages as described and need not also be deployed to perform a powerconditioning function.

However, as has been previously introduced, in order to sense thesepower quality components, they must be interacted with. Therefore theinductor used for sending power quality components must be designed toperform some level of power conditioning in order to produce themagnetic flux needed for sensing voltages.

An inductor is known to abhor a change in both current and voltagefrequencies, permitting the flow of direct current (DC) with only addedwire length resistance in the coil, whereas alternating current (AC) ismet with a range of inductive reactances. These reactances are theresult of the strength of inductance created by the permeability,magnetic cross-section and number of turns of an inductor, as previouslydisclosed. The accuracy of the data gathered from an inductor designedto sense power quality components, referred to herein as a “sensor,” isdependent upon the availability of the broadest spectrum of inductancepossible. Such a spectrum is currently only possible utilizing aninductor designed to support a large gauss/oersted rating at the top endof its rated root mean square (RMS) for a given application. Theinductor must not generally saturate throughout its expected operatingrange so that it may always have magnetic flux density (MFD) availableto create the sensing voltage. The voltages must be available for allpoints of the AC sine wave.

With the individual inductor as described above, its number andarrangement within a circuit must be examined. Electrical devices rangefrom simple designs, like coffee pots, to complex designs such as webservers or electronic gaming machines. Simple devices will have fewerpower quality components to measure, as they interact with theinfrastructure in less complex ways than does, for example, theelectronic web server. In one embodiment, the disclosed system foruniquely identifying an electronic device is operative to produce afingerprint representative of that device with the highest level ofcertainty possible. Therefore, a number of power quality components(“PQC'”s) may be obtained to support this function.

For example, one PQC may provide a precision of 1 in 10; Two PQC=1 in100; Three PQC=1 in 1000; Four PQC=1 in 100,000; Five PQC=1 in100,000,000; Six PQC=1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000, etc.

The disclosed embodiments may collect one or more of the following PQCdata points for each electrical power path.

-   -   RMS voltage    -   Noise voltages    -   RMS current    -   Non-RMS currents    -   Current switching noise    -   Peak currents and voltages

The disclosed embodiments collect this information on each electricalpath, therefore an implementation for use, for example, with a singlephase power source will have three sensors, one on neutral, one on lineand one on ground. Likewise, an implementation for use with a threephase delta power source will have four sensors, one on each of threelines and one on ground, and so on for all other electrical sourceconfigurations.

The ground path sensor acts in a manner different from the line orneutral sensors. In particular, the construction of the ground pathsensor is limited and governed by regulatory requirements and/orinternational standards that guarantee an available fault current path.The disclosed sensors can presently comply with these standards. Theground sensor produces PQC data for

-   -   ground noise currents    -   RMS current on ground    -   current reflections from computing operations    -   ground faults    -   induced radio currents    -   failed product componentry

In one embodiment, the disclosed system may include a processor andmemory, such as in the form of a single board computer (SBC),system-on-chip, or similar device having data processing and datastorage capability, and may further include an analog to digitalconverter operative to convert the sensed analog voltage signals todigital data/signals indicative thereof. The processor is used toreceive the secondary voltage signals from each inductor in the dataacquisition circuit, such as the system described above. The processormay be operative to, for example, collect and analyze the sensed voltagesignals and initially form a baseline representation, or fingerprint, ofthe one or more devices connected therewith from the collected sensordata, to subsequently refine this fingerprint through anongoing/iterative/periodic snapshot process, extract or otherwise deriveother information and to produce and communicate notifications based onpredetermined thresholds being met or not met.

The process used by the disclosed embodiments to uniquely identify anelectrical device may be dependent, to a large degree, on learning aboutthe device through an initial baselining procedure which precedes normaloperation. This may be accomplished when a device is first acquiredand/or deployed. A typical process, which may be referred to as a“learning mode,” may involve connecting the device to the disclosedsystem and enabling a power on and stability sequence which createssufficient data over a period of time to allow the disclosed system tocreate a fingerprint. The identification process may be able, throughadvanced database connectivity and processing described later in thisdocument, to ensure that the fingerprint is truly unique among all otherfingerprints known to the data collection domain. The baselinefingerprint, now established and stored, may then be revisited, refined,and compared on periodic and ad hoc bases to ensure accuracy and producenotifications in a timely manner. Refinement of the baseline fingerprintmay be accomplished by removing outlier values over time, or thosevalues that have an appearance frequency not in accordance with morefrequent values. Further, a “threshold” for a time range may be employedto prevent the refining process from diluting the fingerprint too farbefore the disclosed embodiments commence normal operation as described.In one embodiment, the learning mode is implemented as a secure processto prevent tampering or manipulation of generation of the baselinefingerprints. Where the disclosed embodiments are coupled with more thanone electrical device, this initial baselining procedure may still beused to uniquely identify each device but may require additional time todevelop separate baseline fingerprints of each device.

The fingerprint snapshot frequency may be defined such that theprocessor is provided with sufficient cycles to continually process,refine, and monitor the sensor signals to have the most current data tocompare against the baseline fingerprint. This capability allows thereporting process to be timely and accurate.

As determined by the software algorithm, the fingerprint baseline, theongoing refined fingerprint, and any and all anomalies deemed reportableare sent to a notification process executed by the processor. Theprocessor may be coupled with a communication device, such as a wired orwireless communications interface, e.g., WiFi, Ethernet, or CENELEC. Theprocessor may be operative to communicate notifications, such as via awired or wireless network, to a data collection system or client device,such as a mobile device or to a central aggregate database where furtherprocessing and dissemination may occur. It will be appreciated that thedisclosed embodiments may provide a stand-alone solution, capable ofacquiring, processing, and reporting through a communications means thestate of the monitored device's fingerprint status.

Where more than one of the disclosed identification devices may bedeployed in a given installation, referred to as a “collection domain,”the data produced and transmitted by the processors of those deployeddevices may be collected by a central database server, for example, forfurther processing and transmittal. A collection domain may be definedas any number of unique identification devices able to be deployed andcontrolled under a single user's area of influence, regardless ofgeography. Employing real-time or near real-time collection andprocessing in a database server expands the capabilities of thedisclosed unique identifier solution. For example, the disclosedembodiments may enable determination of:

-   -   The presence of signals indicative of an exfiltration event;    -   Movements of devices from one location to another    -   Removal\insertion of a device from\to power    -   State changes of several devices at a point in time at a certain        place or places    -   Identification of authorized or unauthorized insertions into        power source.    -   Predictive failure of a devices    -   Power demand of devices    -   Power quality of devices

The disclosed unique identification solution for an electricallyconnected product employs an excitable series sensor on each availableelectrical path for the purposes of producing voltage signals thatcorrespond to the state of various power quality components produced bythe connected product. These voltage signals are collected by aprocessor, processed to form a meaningful baseline fingerprint andsubsequent comparison fingerprints. Furthermore, the processor cantransmit this information through a notification process to any numberof end points, including mobile devices or a central data processor forthe purposes of many-to-one data analysis and reporting. The informationgathered by each processor, being oriented towards the presence of powerand its subsequent utilization, can be interpreted to support the uniquegoals of various end users. An end user may be interested inproduct/asset tracking, predictive failure or energy usage. Such asystem provides a new and deep dimension to understanding theinteraction of electrical products with their power sources.

FIG. 8 shows depicts a system 800 for suppressing data exfiltration overa conductor, as well as detecting/reporting same, according to anotherembodiment. The system is similar to the system 100 describe above andshown in FIG. 1 . In addition, one or more of the inductors L1, L2 andL3 have been modified to add the secondary/sensing winding 814A-C toeach for the purpose sensing power quality components or other signalsin the conductors 102, 104, 106, from the signal source 110 as wasdescribed above. The secondary/sensing windings 814A-C are coupled,e.g., via leads of which there may be two separate leads (not shown) persensing winding 814A-C, with a processing component 816 which, asdescribed, is operative to analyze or otherwise process any sensedsignals to produce, extract or otherwise derive information therefrom,such as the presence of particular signals, unique device 110 signalsignatures/fingerprints or changes thereto, etc. The processingcomponent 816 may include an analog to digital converter for convertingthe sensed analog signals to digital data indicative thereof, aprocessor and a memory for storing executable program code for causingthe processor to perform the described functions and further for storingdata indicative of detected events, device fingerprints, etc. Theprocessing component 816 may further include an interface 818, which maycomprise a user interface, such as an external indicator or otherannunciator, and/or a communications interface, such as a wired orwireless network interface, for communicating information, such asnotifications, reports, data logs, etc. to a recipient, such as a userdevice, e.g. a mobile device, or a central server for data collection,aggregation and analysis, as well as further dissemination, etc. Whilethe processing component 816 is depicted within the enclosure 112(suitably adapted to include the additional components) of the device800, it will be appreciated that one or more portions of the processingcomponent 816 may be located outside of the enclosure 112 and, in oneembodiment, remote from the device 800. For example, the device 800 maycommunicate the sensed analog signals to an external processingcomponent. Alternatively, the device 800 may include an analog todigital converter to convert the sensed analog signals to digitalrepresentations thereof which are subsequently communicated, e.g.,digitally, to an external processing component 816.

As described above, the architecture of the circuit shown in FIG. 8 maybe adjusted for implementation with different electrical supplyconfigurations, e.g., wye, delta, split-phase or single-phase, etc.,wherein one or more inductors are implemented, as described, to sensesignals, etc.

It will be appreciated that the disclosed system 100 may be implementedas a device, for which multiple such devices are deployed within a givenpower distribution architecture, each deployed along a particulardistribution path servicing one or more electrically powered devices110. Each of the systems 100 may be interconnected with the other orwith a central server, e.g. via a network, to form a detection andprotection network for monitoring the entire the power distributionarchitecture as well as specific portions thereof as described herein.The number, and deployment locations, of the systems 100 beingimplementation dependent.

Herein, the phrase “coupled with” is defined to mean directly connectedto or indirectly connected through one or more intermediate components.Such intermediate components may include both hardware- andsoftware-based components. Further, to clarify the use in the pendingclaims and to hereby provide notice to the public, the phrases “at leastone of <A>, <B>, . . . and <N>” or “at least one of <A>, <B>, . . . <N>,or combinations thereof” are defined by the Applicant in the broadestsense, superseding any other implied definitions hereinbefore orhereinafter unless expressly asserted by the Applicant to the contrary,to mean one or more elements selected from the group comprising A, B, .. . and N, that is to say, any combination of one or more of theelements A, B, . . . or N including any one element alone or incombination with one or more of the other elements which may alsoinclude, in combination, additional elements not listed.

The above description and drawings are illustrative and are not to beconstrued as limiting. Numerous specific details are described toprovide a thorough understanding of the disclosure. However, in someinstances, well-known details are not described in order to avoidobscuring the description. Further, various modifications may be madewithout deviating from the scope of the implementations. Accordingly,the implementations are not limited except as by the appended claims.

Reference in this specification to “one implementation,” “animplementation,” or “some implementations” means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theimplementation is included in at least one implementation of thedisclosure. The appearances of the phrase “in some implementations” invarious places in the specification are not necessarily all referring tothe same implementation, nor are separate or alternative implementationsmutually exclusive of other implementations. Moreover, various featuresare described which may be exhibited by some implementations and not byothers. Similarly, various requirements are described which may berequirements for some implementations but not for other implementations.

The terms used in this specification generally have their ordinarymeanings in the art, within the context of the disclosure, and in thespecific context where each term is used. Terms that are used todescribe the disclosure are discussed below, or elsewhere in thespecification, to provide additional guidance to the practitionerregarding the description of the disclosure. For convenience, some termsmay be highlighted, for example using italics and/or quotation marks.The use of highlighting has no influence on the scope and meaning of aterm; the scope and meaning of a term is the same, in the same context,whether or not it is highlighted. It will be appreciated that the samething can be said in more than one way. One will recognize that “memory”is one form of a “storage” and that the terms may on occasion be usedinterchangeably.

Consequently, alternative language and synonyms may be used for any oneor more of the terms discussed herein, nor is any special significanceto be placed upon whether or not a term is elaborated or discussedherein. Synonyms for some terms are provided. A recital of one or moresynonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use of examplesanywhere in this specification including examples of any term discussedherein is illustrative only, and is not intended to further limit thescope and meaning of the disclosure or of any exemplified term.Likewise, the disclosure is not limited to various implementations givenin this specification.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the logic illustrated ineach of the flow diagrams discussed above may be altered in variousways. For example, the order of the logic may be rearranged, sub-stepsmay be performed in parallel, illustrated logic may be omitted; otherlogic may be included, etc.

As used herein, the word “or” refers to any possible permutation of aset of items. For example, the phrase “A, B, or C” refers to at leastone of A, B, C, or any combination thereof, such as any of: A; B; C; Aand B; A and C; B and C; A, B, and C; or multiple of any item such as Aand A; B, B, and C; A, A, B, C, and C; etc.

Without intent to further limit the scope of the disclosure, examples ofinstruments, apparatus, methods and their related results according tothe implementations of the present disclosure are given below. Note thattitles or subtitles may be used in the examples for convenience of areader, which in no way should limit the scope of the disclosure. Unlessotherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein havethe same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in theart to which this disclosure pertains. In the case of conflict, thepresent document, including definitions will control.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Specific embodiments and implementations have been described herein forpurposes of illustration, but various modifications can be made withoutdeviating from the scope of the embodiments and implementations. Thespecific features and acts described above are disclosed as exampleforms of implementing the claims that follow. Accordingly, theembodiments and implementations are not limited except as by theappended claims.

Any patents, patent applications, and other references noted above areincorporated herein by reference. Aspects can be modified, if necessary,to employ the systems, functions, and concepts of the various referencesdescribed above to provide yet further implementations. If statements orsubject matter in a document incorporated by reference conflicts withstatements or subject matter of this application, then this applicationshall control.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings and describedherein in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiringthat such operations be performed in the particular order shown or insequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, toachieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking andparallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation ofvarious system components in the embodiments described above should notbe understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and itshould be understood that the described program components and systemscan generally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

One or more embodiments of the disclosure may be referred to herein,individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merely forconvenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of thisapplication to any particular invention or inventive concept. Moreover,although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any subsequent arrangementdesigned to achieve the same or similar purpose may be substituted forthe specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover anyand all subsequent adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the description.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b) and is submitted with the understanding that it will not be usedto interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition,in the foregoing Detailed Description, various features may be groupedtogether or described in a single embodiment for the purpose ofstreamlining the disclosure. This disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive subject matter may be directed toless than all of the features of any of the disclosed embodiments. Thus,the following claims are incorporated into the Detailed Description,with each claim standing on its own as defining separately claimedsubject matter.

It is therefore intended that the foregoing detailed description beregarded as illustrative rather than limiting, and that it be understoodthat it is the following claims, including all equivalents, that areintended to define the spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. Is amended to recite: An apparatus forsuppressing transmission of signals over a conductor coupled between apower source and a signal source powered thereby, the apparatuscomprising: a first input for receiving power from the power source viaone or more power conductors; a second input for connecting to a groundconductor; an output for providing the received power to the signalsource and coupling the signal source with the ground conductor; and acircuit coupled with the input and the output, the circuit comprising:for each of the one or more power and ground conductors, an inductorforming an electrical path from the first or second input through theinductor to the output; and wherein the signals from the signal sourceimpart one or more characteristics on one or more of the one or morepower conductors, and further wherein one or more of the one or moreinductors further includes a secondary winding operative to sense theone or more characteristics in the conductor included in the electricalpath therewith, each of the secondary windings being coupled with aprocessor operative to convert the sensed one or more characteristics todigital data representative thereof and process the digital data toderive at least one result therefrom.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the signal source comprises a computer.
 3. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the signals comprise analog signals imposed on the oneor more power and ground conductors by the signal source.
 4. Theapparatus of claim 3, wherein the analog signals are indicative ofdigital information processed by the signal source.
 5. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the circuit is further coupled with a power lineprotection device operative to protect the signal source from surgesand/or transient power events.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thecircuit further comprises: a first inductor connected in series betweena first conductor and a first output line, wherein power supplied by thepower source to the first output line flows through the first inductor;a second inductor connected in series between a second conductor and asecond output line, wherein power supplied by the power source to thesecond output line flows through the second inductor; a third inductorconnected in series between a ground conductor and a third output line,wherein ground conducted from the signal source to the third output lineflows through the third inductor; and wherein an inductance of each ofthe first inductor, the second inductor and the third inductor increaseswhen power at frequencies greater than the nominal frequency flowsthrough the first second and/or third conductors.
 7. The apparatus ofclaim 6, wherein the circuit further includes, between a connection withthe power source and the first and second inductors, a first passiveswitching device coupled between the first conductor and the secondconductor, a second passive switching device coupled between the firstconductor and the third conductor and a third passive switching devicecoupled between the second conductor and the third conductor, andfurther includes, between the first and second inductors and the signalsource, a fourth passive switching device coupled between the firstconductor and the second conductor, a fifth passive switching devicecoupled between the first conductor and the third conductor and a sixthpassive switching device coupled between the second conductor and thethird conductor.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the first, second,third, fourth, fifth, and sixth passive switching devices each comprisesone of a metal oxide varistor, a Zener diode or gas tube.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 6, wherein the circuit further includes, between aconnection with the power source and the first and second inductors, afirst passive switching device coupled between the first conductor andthe second conductor, and further includes, between the first and secondinductors and the signal source, a second passive switching devicecoupled between the first conductor and the second conductor.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 6, wherein the circuit includes no passive switchingdevices coupled between first, second and third conductors.
 11. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is further operative tocommunicate the derived at least one result via an interface coupledtherewith.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the derived at leastone result comprises an identifier which uniquely identifies the signalsource from among other signal sources.
 13. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the derived at least one result comprises an indication that oneor more signals are being conveyed from the signal source via at leastone of the first, second or third conductors.
 14. The apparatus of claim1, wherein the circuit is operative to convey power received from thepower source to a power supply of the signal source and not convey aswitched mode power supply imprint and/or signals imposed by CPUtransistor switching from the power supply toward the power source or aground coupled therewith.
 15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thecircuit is further operative to prevent any signals from being inducedby the power supply onto a ground coupled with the circuit.
 16. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the circuit is integrated with the powersupply.
 17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the circuit is integratedbetween the power source and the power supply such that both powersupplied by the power supply and the ground path flow through thecircuit.
 18. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the circuit is furtheroperative to reform voltage and current waveshapes to a linear profileso that the signal source cannot be uniquely identified from anothersignal source solely based on the voltage and current waveshapes. 19.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the circuit is further operative toprevent inductive coupling of magnetic fields generated by the signalsource with the conductor.
 20. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thecircuit is operative to alter the shape of a fundamental current andvoltage waveforms and also alter and diminish any non-fundamentalfrequency waveforms such that they are not measurable or detectable; andprevent the communication thereof via inductive coupling of anyelectrical signals on mains current onto the grounding path or viceversa.
 21. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the circuit furthercomprises: for at least one pair of conductors of the one or more powerand ground conductors, first and second passive switching device coupledtherebetween, the first passive switching device being coupled betweenthe input and the inductor, and the second passive switching devicecoupled between the inductor and the output.
 22. The apparatus of claim1, further comprising an enclosure operative to enclose the circuit andproviding one or more electrical connectors for each of the first andsecond inputs and output.
 23. An apparatus for suppressing transmissionof signals over a conductor coupled between a power source and a signalsource powered thereby, the system comprising: a first input forreceiving power from the power source via one or more power conductors;a second input for connecting to a ground conductor; an output forproviding the received power to the signal source and coupling thesignal source with the ground conductor; and a circuit coupled with theinput and the output, the circuit comprising: means for altering theshape of a fundamental current and voltage waveforms and altering anddiminishing any non-fundamental frequency waveforms such that they arenot measurable or detectable; and means for preventing the communicationthereof via inductive coupling of any electrical signals on mainscurrent onto the grounding path or vice versa; and wherein theelectrical signals impart one or more characteristics on the mainscurrent, and further wherein the means for preventing further includes asecondary winding operative to sense the one or more characteristics onethe mains current, the secondary winding being coupled with a processoroperative to convert the sensed one or more characteristics to digitaldata representative thereof and process the digital data to derive atleast one result therefrom.
 24. A method of suppressing transmission ofsignals over a conductor coupled between a power source and a signalsource powered thereby, the method comprising: implementing,electrically, a circuit between the power source and the signal sourcereceiving power therefrom, the circuit receiving power from the powersource and conveying the received power to the signal source, theimplementing further comprising: coupling a first inductor in seriesbetween a first conductor and a first output line, wherein powersupplied by the power source to the first output line flows through thefirst inductor; coupling a second inductor in series between a secondconductor and a second output line, wherein power supplied by the powersource to the second output line flows through the second inductor;coupling a third inductor connected in series between a ground conductorand a third output line, wherein ground conducted from the signal sourceto the third output line flows through the third inductor; and whereinan inductance of each of the first, second and/or third inductorsincreases when power at frequencies greater than the nominal frequencyflows through the first, second or third conductors respectively; andwherein the signals from the signal source impart one or morecharacteristics on one or more of the first, second or third conductors,the method further comprising: providing one or more of the first,second or third inductors with a secondary winding operative to sensethe one or more characteristics in the first, second or third conductorsrespectively, each of the secondary windings being coupled with aprocessor; and converting, by the processor, the sensed one or morecharacteristics to digital data representative thereof and processingthe digital data to derive at least one result therefrom.
 25. The methodof claim 24, further comprising conveying power received from the powersource to a power supply of the signal source and not conveying aswitched mode power supply imprint and/or signals imposed by CPUtransistor switching from the power supply toward the power source or aground coupled therewith.
 26. The method of claim 24, further comprisingaltering the shape of a fundamental current and voltage waveforms andaltering and diminishing any non-fundamental frequency waveforms suchthat they are not measurable or detectable; and preventing thecommunication thereof via inductive coupling of any electrical signalson mains current onto the grounding path or vice versa.
 27. Is amendedto recite: The method of claim 24, further comprising communicating, bythe processor, the derived at least one result via an interface coupledtherewith.
 28. Is amended to recite: The method of claim 24, wherein thederived at least one result comprises an identifier which uniquelyidentifies the signal source from among other signal sources.
 29. Isamended to recite: The method of claim 24, wherein the derived at leastone result comprises an indication that one or more signals are beingconveyed from the signal source via at least one of the first, second orthird conductors.